The other driver ran a red light. How do I prove it in Texas?

What exactly has to be proven?

"He ran the red" is really a question about one moment: what the signal showed when the other car crossed the stop line. Under Transportation Code § 544.007(d), a driver facing a steady red has to stop at the marked stop line, or before the crosswalk if there is none, and stay stopped until the signal allows the movement. A steady yellow is different. Under § 544.007(e) it is a warning that the green is ending or that a red is coming. Texas law does not make entering on yellow a violation by itself.

That has a consequence that cuts both ways. A driver who entered on yellow and was still crossing when the light turned red was lawfully in the intersection, and drivers who then get a green must yield to vehicles lawfully within the intersection (§ 544.007(b)). So proof that the other driver ran the light usually means proof of where their car was, and how fast it was going, at the moment of the change.

If you and the other driver each say your light was green, our page on T-bone crashes at intersections explains how that dispute plays out. This page is about building the proof.

Why isn't there red-light camera video?

Because Texas outlawed it. Since H.B. 1631 took effect in June 2019, § 707.020 says a local authority may not implement or operate a photographic traffic signal enforcement system on its streets, and § 707.021 bars tickets based on those images. The law remains in effect today. Don't spend time looking for an enforcement camera at the intersection. Spend it on the evidence below, most of which has a short life.

Witnesses and 911 calls

The best red-light witness is often the driver who was stopped at the light on the other street, or behind you. They saw the signal from the same angle and have no stake in the case. They also leave within minutes. If anyone stops, get a name and phone number, or ask them to tell the officer what they saw.

People who call 911 from the scene often describe what they saw right then: "the truck ran the red." Those recordings are held by the agency that answered the call, not by the police department that wrote the report, and they are not kept forever. Our page on getting the 911 call and police video explains how to request them and how long they last.

Video: businesses, doorbells, dashcams and METRO buses

• Businesses at the corner. Gas stations, banks, restaurants and apartment complexes often have cameras that see the street, and sometimes the signal itself. Many systems record over themselves within days or weeks.
• Doorbell and home cameras on nearby houses. They often catch the sound of the crash and the cars approaching even if the light is out of frame.
• Dashcams in your car, the other car, rideshare cars and work trucks that were nearby.
• METRO buses. In Houston, METRO buses carry on-board cameras, and Attorney General rulings show METRO receiving requests for that video under the Public Information Act. METRO can ask to withhold video in some situations, such as an active criminal investigation, so the request should be made early and carefully. If a bus was involved in the crash itself, see METRO bus and school bus crashes.

None of these owners is required to keep video for you unless they know a claim is coming. That is why we send preservation letters right away.

The cars' own record: event data recorders

Most modern vehicles have an event data recorder that stores speed, braking and throttle in the seconds before a crash. A car that was accelerating toward the intersection tells a different story from one that was braking. Under the federal Driver Privacy Act of 2015, that data belongs to the vehicle's owner or lessee, and others may retrieve it only with the owner's consent, a court's authorization or a few narrow exceptions. In practice, we download your car's data with your permission, and get the other car's through its owner's consent or a court order. Either way, it has to happen before the car is repaired, sold for salvage or crushed.

Signal-timing records: how to get them

Every signal runs on a timing plan: the order of the green, yellow and red phases and how long each lasts. Matched against the cars' speeds and distances, the timing plan can show whether the other driver's story is physically possible. If their car was 200 feet back at 45 mph when the light turned yellow, a reconstruction expert can work out what color it faced at the stop line.

Who holds the records depends on who runs the signal:

• City of Houston. Houston Public Works maintains and operates more than 2,400 signalized intersections. Its signal timing and engineering section works out of Houston TranStar. Records are requested in writing under the Public Information Act (Government Code chapter 552).
• TxDOT. Where TxDOT runs the signal, requests go through TxDOT's online open-records system or by email to TxDOT_ORR@txdot.gov. TxDOT does not take open-records requests by phone or fax.
• Counties and other cities keep their own records and answer their own requests.

A useful request names the intersection, date and time and asks for the timing plan in effect then, plus any malfunction or maintenance records for that signal around the crash. A signal that was malfunctioning changes the case, and can bring in different rules and short government notice deadlines.

What the crash report says

The CR-3 crash report has contributing-factor codes, including 15, "Disregard Stop and Go Signal." If the officer marked it for the other driver, that helps. But TxDOT's instructions call contributing factors the investigating officer's opinion, and the officer usually arrived after the crash. A report that blames you is not the end of the case; see how to read a Texas CR-3 crash report and the police report says I was at fault. A traffic ticket for running the light is helpful, but your injury claim does not depend on one.

Speed, damage and skid marks

When the video and data are thin, the physical evidence still talks. Where each car was hit, how deep the crush is, where the cars came to rest and any tire marks let a reconstruction expert estimate speeds at impact. Modern anti-lock brakes leave fewer skid marks, which makes the vehicle data and scene photos more important. Photos taken before the cars are moved are valuable; take them if it is safe.

Fault, shared fault and what we do

Running a red light does not automatically make the other driver 100% responsible. If you were speeding or not watching the intersection, the other side will argue you share the blame; every driver has to slow appropriately approaching and crossing an intersection (§ 545.351). Under chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code you can recover as long as you are 50% or less at fault, reduced by your share. In most cases you have two years to file suit (CPRC § 16.003), but most of the proof described here is gone within weeks.

Once you hire us, we handle every conversation with the insurance companies, send the records requests and preservation letters, find the witnesses and get the vehicle data. You talk with Jimmy directly by phone, text, email or video call, and in person when needed, wherever you are in Texas.

Other ways people ask this

Does Texas have red-light cameras I can get footage from?

No. Since 2019, Transportation Code § 707.020 has prohibited cities and counties from operating red-light enforcement cameras. Proof has to come from other video, witnesses, vehicle data and signal records.

Is running a yellow light illegal in Texas?

Not by itself. Under § 544.007(e) a steady yellow is a warning that the light is about to turn red. A driver who enters on red, after it changes, is the one who violates § 544.007(d).

How do I get the signal timing for the intersection?

With a written Public Information Act request to the government that runs the signal. In Houston that is usually the City (Houston Public Works); on state-run signals it is TxDOT, through its open-records system or TxDOT_ORR@txdot.gov.

Can I get the other driver's black box data?

Under the federal Driver Privacy Act, event data recorder data belongs to the vehicle's owner, so it takes the owner's consent or a court order. It must be preserved before the car is repaired or salvaged.

The officer didn't see the crash. Does the report's 'disregard stop and go signal' code matter?

It helps if it's against the other driver, but the contributing factors are the officer's opinion. The evidence behind it, like video and data, is what decides the case.

Can I get video from a METRO bus that was at the intersection?

Often. METRO bus video is requested under the Public Information Act, though METRO can ask to withhold it in some situations, such as an active criminal investigation. Ask early.

What if the other driver ran the red but I was speeding?

Fault can be shared. You can still recover under Texas proportionate responsibility if you are 50% or less at fault, reduced by your percentage.

Authority: Tex. Transp. Code ch. 707 (§§ 707.001, 707.020, 707.021), official text · Tex. Transp. Code § 544.007 (traffic-control signals) · Houston Public Works — Traffic Signal Performance Improvement Program · TxDOT — Submit an open records request · Texas Attorney General — Open Records Ruling OR2019-00853 (METRO on-board camera video) · Driver Privacy Act of 2015 (S. 766), § 2 (event data recorder data) · Texas DPS — Texas Driver Handbook (DL-7), rev. Jan. 2026